Al-Sowaidi case highlights HK's folly in failing to send any golfers

Shorouq al-Sowaidi is testament to the utter absurdity behind the Hong Kong Olympic Committee's decision to bar golf from its list of sports here.

The 22-year-old Qatari native shot an unbelievable 192 over par, to finish bottom of the 24-strong field in the women's individual competition. She finished a staggering 221 shots behind gold medallist Ryu So-yeon of South Korea.

Now I'm not all that familiar with the standards of Hong Kong's junior golfers, but I will bet my last riyal that even the humblest local golfer would have put up a better showing than al-Sowaidi.

The token Qatari shot rounds of 118-117-119-130 at the par-73, 5,751-yard course at the Doha Golf Club. She must have been blushing in shame, especially after her final round. On average, she needed seven shots to complete each hole.

Poor woman. But at least she participated. The same cannot be said for Hong Kong's talented crop of youngsters who were crushed when the local Olympic committee decided for some inexplicable reason they needed professional golfers for these games.

The Hong Kong Golf Association was dumbfounded when told the list of amateurs they had presented was not good enough. In its infinite wisdom, the Hong Kong Olympic Committee said the team needed to be competitive and professional. Thus, no golfers.

The Qatari girl's performance throws the competitive argument out of the window. As for the issue of professionals - the games are only open to amateur golfers anyway. Neither Pak Se-ri nor Arjun Atwal turned up at the luxurious Doha Golf Club, but Hong Kong's officials in charge of team selection believed professionals were allowed entry. There might be pros in Doha, but they don't carry tees in their pockets.